Description
Metalor Gold Bars are made using traditional European refining methods. The refined gold is melted down in a furnace and poured into a pre-fabricated cast thus ensuring that the finished product will be of the highest quality. Because of the extremely high temperature of the melting gold at this stage, the molds must also be made of extremely heat-resistant materials.
The roots of Metalor date back to the “preparatory rolling mill” founded in 1852 by Martin de Pury & Cie in Le Locle. They specialized in smelting gold and manufacturing watch cases. In 1864, the plant, which had five employees at the time, was taken over by the Banque du Locle.
In 1918 the company became the property of the Swiss Bank Corporation. Operations expanded to refining precious metals and producing bullion. In 1936, the bank association founded Métaux Précieux S.A. Metalor in Le Locle. As a result, production activities were initially expanded at the current site and later in other countries.
The group’s Hong Kong refinery opened in 1982, and Metalor began running its US refinery in 1986. In 1998, SBC merged with Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) and a majority of the shares of Métaux Précieux SA Metalor were acquired from SBC by a group of Swiss private investors comprising Ernst Thomke, Martin Bisang, Rolf Soiron and Giorgio Behr. The refinery group changed name from “Métaux Précieux SA Metalor” to “Metalor Technologies” in 2001.
In 2013, the company selected Singapore as the location for establishing a gold refinery and manufacturing facility for bullion products. This decision was made to cater to the growing regional gold demand, which aligns with the Singapore government’s initiatives to position the country as a prominent global trading hub for physical precious metal transactions. The Singapore refinery was opened in June 2014.
In September 2016, 100% of Metalor was sold to the Japanese group of precious metals producers Tanaka Kikinzoku.Previously, the French investor Astorg Partners, who took over Metalor in 2009, held a majority of 50.5% of the shares.
